OMOA Competition

Our concept for the OMOA Museum is inspired by the sense of awe one feels when experiencing the vastness of the Australian outback. Awe (verb) is a feeling one is overcome with when in the presence of something vast that challenges our understanding of the world. Research suggests that awe reduces self-focus and instead creates a greater connectedness with other people because they feel more like a part of a larger whole. The desert can inspire feelings of awe in many different ways from the sheer vast open plains or the swathes of wildflowers blooming through the channel country after the rains, right through to the more minute details still eliciting feelings of fascination upon noticing, like a wildflower growing out of a rock crevice. That is the true experience of the outback, the unique juxtaposition of grand scale and the captivating detail of the small stories playing out.

The design emphasises this unique outback juxtaposition in several ways. Set amongst a natural landscape of wild grasses and Eucalypt, the external face of the museum is expansive and mysterious on approach and bears no signs of ostentatiousness. Nearing closer to the building one will notice small details like the shaped concrete parapet in a darker pigmented horizontal band up high. The spaces within the museum take reference from the experience of moving through outback landscapes. Upon entry, the museum-goer’s attention will be piqued by the landscape emerging from a slither of red soil between two building masses. Comparatively smaller hallway spaces mimic the experience of pushing your way through a monolithic rock chasm, and then open out into more generous, cavernous spaces with variations between darker spaces, narrow light streams, and those with an abundance of natural light pouring in through roof punctuations and purposeful glazing add to the drama of the experience. Like an outback experience, there is avid contrast between close and directional flow and feelings of openness and freedom.

The open courtyard, named the red centre, is organically shaped as if it were carved out over millennia by natural weathering processes. The red centre is a representation of the ideal outback landscape, a seasonal and flourishing natural environment planted with indigenous species that is to inspire visitors to create a symbiotic relationship with the Australian outback.